The game of education… the process of creating meaningful, engaging work whereby kids learn the things we want them to learn according to Phil Schlecty…  The exercise of managing unfunded government mandates, placating elevated parent expectations of grade point average growth, and minimizing the degree of change from previously educated generations as to not hear them raise the collective chorus of “…that’s how they did it when I was in school…” when change is what is required to meet the needs of today’s learners.

In reading “Overheard at last night’s party“, I became jealous of the atmosphere of collegiality, of the fee exchange of ideas that Dave speaks of at his San Francisco get together.  In technology, and software development in particular, there is a sense that if an idea is good enough, and the programmer skillful enough, the idea will take fruition and live or die on its own merits.  The costs will be absorbed by someone who believes in the idea and the potential returns it may bring. 

In education, ideas are studied in pseudo-scientific research projects whose results are seldom worth the paper they are written on.  Big ideas for change are often unprovable, and even if they were, a scientific study involving control groups is politically and socially unpalatable.  Most parents are unwilling to risk the education of their child on the risky proposition of participating in a major educational method shift, nor are they excited about the proposition of having their son or daughter miss out on a potential improvement in the change by remaining as part of a control group.  Due to the flawed nature of the educational study, it is possible to find “research” that supports every position on any new educational methods or ideas. 

The confusion that results from this inconclusive research, combined with the very political nature of public education leads to a nearly stagnant state in many situations.

I envy Dave and the culture he lives in… I wish I knew how to bring it to public education…  

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Tags: DaveWiner, Scripting News, Education, Change

At this time, I’m not ready to make any commitments as to who I will vote for in the next presidential election.  I will say that I’m showing some serious interest in Fred Thompson.

Why am I interested?

1.  He is a true federalist.  He believes in limiting the authority of the federal government and a strong sense that certain issues are the sole domain of state governments to decide.
2.  He isn’t afraid to be alone.  While in the senate, there were several times when he was outvoted 99-1.  You could argue that he was simply being contrarian or was unable to play along with the crowd (party), but I think they were, for the most part, principled stands.
3.  He is for term limits for members of congress a well as the limitation of their pay.  In today’s Washington Post it is written that

  “And if McCain is acknowledged to be an energetic legislator, Thompson had few signature accomplishments. At times, he seemed not to enjoy politics and sometimes griped about the long hours in the Senate. When he decided against running for reelection in 2002, he told the Tennessean newspaper, “All kinds of opportunities are out there . . . without having someone else determine your schedule every day, and not have to sit around at 10 o’clock at night over some Senate resolution that shouldn’t be on the floor anyway.”"

I’m not really sure why this is a negative thing.  George Washington didn’t want to be president either.  I believe that we want people in office who really don’t want to be there, but feel drawn to it because think that, for a short time, they can do it better.  The other reason people should be running for president or congress is they are called to serve by the people of their state or district.  How many people serving in national offices today fit into one of these two categories? 

I will be interested to see how Mr. Thompson proceeds with his potential candidacy.  Even if he says and does all the right things, will I be able  to vote for him?  I’m not sure.  I have a tendency not to believe anything that comes from people who label themselves Democrats or Republicans.  For the past decade or so I’ve been voting for third party candidates whenever I can.  I think the only way for the two major parties to get the message of dis-satisfaction that the country has with their performance is to vote them out.  Who else has the strength to vote their beliefs vs. voting for someone who they think will win?

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John Stewart helps to clarify how the Internet really works, and why on-line lotteries help to keep the Internet flowing.

Technorati Tags: Government, The Internet

Well, according to Wired news the case of NSA eavesdropping on the domestic phone calls of US citizens is now dead, as the NSA wouldn’t give the Justice Department the required security clearance to go any further.

From Wired News: DOJ Drops Wiretap Investigation

In a related story, Wired is also reporting that congressional democrats are outraged at the discovery of a database of phone calls from most of the large public carriers. This database reportedly contains call details including originating and completing time, and originating and destination phone numbers and encompasses both local and long distance calls. The only major carrier that has not voluntarily participated is Qwest. One democratic congressman stated…

“Somebody ought to tell the truth and answer questions. They haven’t. The press has done our work for us and we should be ashamed. Shame on us for being so far behind and being so willing to rubber stamp anything this administration does. We ought to fold our tents.”

Technorati Tags: Bush, Constitution, Government

I don’t get it. The New York Times is reporting that “As Gazans Wait for Aid, Their Situation Is Dire:” NO KIDDING!!! The whole point of the US, Israel, and other countries withholding aid payments to the Palestinian authority is to put them in financial duress, create hardship among its people, and lead the populace to the conclusion that their political situation is unsustainable with terrorists at the helm, and force them out.

The Times reports that…

Palestinian Authority employees, 35 percent of the population, have not been paid in two months, and tensions in Gaza are rising fast.

This is evidence that the current policy is having its designed effect. The real question here, it seems, is one of is the designed effect the one that should have been sought in the first place. lf countries are going to withhold financial resources, then give in at a later date, it would seem to me that the plan was ill conceived to start with. This is another one of those situations where the political price for holding strong on a course of action may be too high. Governments of the world, and particularly the west, need to think BEFORE they act. Try to predict the possible results of their actions and what the odds are that they will need to backpedal later. it seems that the US in particular spends way too much time backpedaling from international actions when it gets politically uncomfortable.

Posted while listening to Inside the Net 21: ClaimID from the album “Inside the Net May 2006″ by Amber MacArthur with Leo Laporte

Technorati Tags: Bush, Government, POTUS, President

Via Slashdot:

The NSA Knows Who You’ve Called:

…”USAToday is reporting on the National Security Agency’s goal to create a database of every call ever made inside the USA. Aided by the cooperation of US telecom corporations, AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, the NSA has been secretly collecting phone call records of tens of millions of Americans; the vast majority of whom aren’t suspected of any crime. Only Qwest refused to give the NSA information because they were uneasy about giving information to the government without the proper warrants. The usefulness of the NSA’s domestic phone call database as a counterterrorism tool is unclear.”

This is absolutely unbelievable. I’m embarrassed that I don’t have the gumption to get out and do something about this. I am a sheep, a follower, unwilling or unable to put it on the line to make sure my children continue to live in an open and free society, the one I thought could not be corrupted by over-reaching and unconstitutional actions like the government is getting away with.

Posted while listening to Inside the Net 21: ClaimID from the album “Inside the Net May 2006″ by Amber MacArthur with Leo Laporte

Technorati Tags: Bush, Constitution, George Bush, Gonzales, POTUS, President, Speech

Looks like the Consumer Electronics Association is finally ready to stand up to the content providers with a new add campaign that urges the record labels to go after the “Real Pirates” and allow law abiding home users to use the media they purchase as they wish.

via BoingBoing

Posted while listening to Second Best (Acoustic) from the album “Everything To Everyone” by Barenaked Ladies

Technorati Tags: Music, RIAA

If you are interested in politics, and children, you must listen to George Bush’s latest speech!

Technorati Tags: Bush, George Bush, POTUS, President, Speech

I am in no way what I would call a “serious” photographer. I enjoy taking pictures of my children, pretty nature scenes, an occasional woodworking project or other still-art subjects. It would also not be out of the ordinary for me to take some vacation pictures, or pictures when I am out and about in the big city. Via BoingBoing I ran across a story of a photographer who has been repeatedly hassled for taking pictures of buildings while in public space. The incident detailed in the article is a bit humorous, but mostly a sad testament to those who think they can control what others do in public.

The very notion that you can be prohibited from taking pictures of a building that is in plain view while in a public place is completely asinine. I really wish the cops would have been called and this could have gotten to court. These are exactly the kinds of cases that should be fought and won. Judges should come down hard on those who try to violate the rights of others to do common things like take pictures in public.

Technorati Tags: Government, Photography

Attorney General won’t rule out domestic warrantless wiretaps:

Xeni Jardin:

Snip from a press release from Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA:

During a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee today, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA) questioned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the NSA’s secret domestic wiretapping program. The Administration has cited the Authorization to Use Military Force and the commander in chief powers as authorizing the NSA to intercept international communications into and out of the U.S. of persons linked to al Qaeda or related terrorist organizations.

After citing his concerns that there was no limiting principle to the Administration’s claim of authority in the War on Terror, Rep. Schiff asked the Attorney General whether the Administration believes it has the authority to wiretap purely domestic calls between two Americans without seeking a warrant. “I cannot rule that out,” responded the Attorney General.

“This is very disturbing testimony,” Rep. Schiff commented later, “and represents a wholly unprecedented assertion of executive power. No one in Congress would deny the need to tap certain calls under court order — but if the Administration believes it can tap purely domestic phone calls between Americans without court approval, there is no limit to executive power. This is contrary to settled law and the most basic constitutional principles of the separation of powers.”

Link to full text of press release. (from Brock Meeks of MSNBC, by way of Declan McCullagh’s politech list).

I’ve been on a rant about this administration’s lack of respect for civil rights for several years now, and many people, including some in my own family, have tended to think I’ve been going off the deep end with it. I think this story in particular justifies my paranoia. When the attorney general testifies before Congress that warrant-less wiretaps of domestic phone calls between US citizens are not “ruled out”, we need to be scared, very, very scared of our government. A little revolution from time-to-time is a healthy thing, no?

EDIT: More information available here, here and Slashdot discussion here

Technorati Tags: Constitution, Gonzales, Government